scholarly journals Metabolic and Genomic Traits of Phytobeneficial Phenazine-Producing Pseudomonas spp. Are Linked to Rhizosphere Colonization in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum

2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Zboralski ◽  
Adrien Biessy ◽  
Marie-Claude Savoie ◽  
Amy Novinscak ◽  
Martin Filion

ABSTRACT Bacterial rhizosphere colonization is critical for phytobeneficial rhizobacteria such as phenazine-producing Pseudomonas spp. To better understand this colonization process, potential metabolic and genomic determinants required for rhizosphere colonization were identified using a collection of 60 phenazine-producing Pseudomonas strains isolated from multiple plant species and representative of the worldwide diversity. Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum (potato) were used as host plants. Bacterial rhizosphere colonization was measured by quantitative PCR using a newly designed primer pair and TaqMan probe targeting a conserved region of the phenazine biosynthetic operon. The metabolic abilities of the strains were assessed on 758 substrates using Biolog phenotype microarray technology. These data, along with available genomic sequences for all strains, were analyzed in light of rhizosphere colonization. Strains belonging to the P. chlororaphis subgroup colonized the rhizospheres of both plants more efficiently than strains belonging to the P. fluorescens subgroup. Metabolic results indicated that the ability to use amines and amino acids was associated with an increase in rhizosphere colonization capability in A. thaliana and/or in S. tuberosum. The presence of multiple genetic determinants in the genomes of the different strains involved in catabolic pathways and plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions correlated with increased or decreased rhizosphere colonization capabilities in both plants. These results suggest that the metabolic and genomic traits found in different phenazine-producing Pseudomonas strains reflect their rhizosphere competence in A. thaliana and S. tuberosum. Interestingly, most of these traits are associated with similar rhizosphere colonizing capabilities in both plant species. IMPORTANCE Rhizosphere colonization is crucial for plant growth promotion and biocontrol by antibiotic-producing Pseudomonas spp. This colonization process relies on different bacterial determinants which partly remain to be uncovered. In this study, we combined a metabolic and a genomic approach to decipher new rhizosphere colonization determinants which could improve our understanding of this process in Pseudomonas spp. Using 60 distinct strains of phenazine-producing Pseudomonas spp., we show that rhizosphere colonization abilities correlated with both metabolic and genomic traits when these bacteria were inoculated on two distant plants, Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum. Key metabolic and genomic determinants presumably required for efficient colonization of both plant species were identified. Upon further validation, these targets could lead to the development of simple screening tests to rapidly identify efficient rhizosphere colonizers.

Author(s):  
Di Fan ◽  
Donald L. Smith

There are pressing needs to reduce the use of agrochemicals, and PGPR are receiving increasing interest in plant growth promotion and disease protection. This study follows up our previous report that the four newly isolated rhizobacteria promote the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana .


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Mayer ◽  
Patricia Dörr de Quadros ◽  
Roberta Fulthorpe

ABSTRACT A collection of bacterial endophytes isolated from stem tissues of plants growing in soils highly contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons were screened for plant growth-promoting capabilities. Twenty-seven endophytic isolates significantly improved the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana plants in comparison to that of uninoculated control plants. The five most beneficial isolates, one strain each of Curtobacterium herbarum, Paenibacillus taichungensis, and Rhizobium selenitireducens and two strains of Plantibacter flavus were further examined for growth promotion in Arabidopsis, lettuce, basil, and bok choy plants. Host-specific plant growth promotion was observed when plants were inoculated with the five bacterial strains. P. flavus strain M251 increased the total biomass and total root length of Arabidopsis plants by 4.7 and 5.8 times, respectively, over that of control plants and improved lettuce and basil root growth, while P. flavus strain M259 promoted Arabidopsis shoot and root growth, lettuce and basil root growth, and bok choy shoot growth. A genome comparison between P. flavus strains M251 and M259 showed that both genomes contain up to 70 actinobacterial putative plant-associated genes and genes involved in known plant-beneficial pathways, such as those for auxin and cytokinin biosynthesis and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase production. This study provides evidence of direct plant growth promotion by Plantibacter flavus. IMPORTANCE The discovery of new plant growth-promoting bacteria is necessary for the continued development of biofertilizers, which are environmentally friendly and cost-efficient alternatives to conventional chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizer effects on plant growth can be inconsistent due to the complexity of plant-microbe interactions, as the same bacteria can be beneficial to the growth of some plant species and neutral or detrimental to others. We examined a set of bacterial endophytes isolated from plants growing in a unique petroleum-contaminated environment to discover plant growth-promoting bacteria. We show that strains of Plantibacter flavus exhibit strain-specific plant growth-promoting effects on four different plant species.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Armijo ◽  
Tatiana Kraiser ◽  
María P. Medina ◽  
Diana E. Gras ◽  
Ana Zúñiga ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNitrogen (N) is an essential macronutrient for plants. Some plant species obtain this nutrient by interacting with N-fixing bacteria. These beneficial interactions are well described in legumes but have also been observed in non-legume plant species that are unable to form root nodules. We studied the expanding role of beneficial plant-bacteria interactions for N-nutrition in the widely used model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that the bacteria Ensifer meliloti enhanced A. thaliana growth under severe N-deficiency conditions, allowing plants to complete their life cycle. Our results showed that bacteria colonize the rhizosphere associated with the epidermis of the plant root. We also demonstrated that A. thaliana possesses genes that are critical for this beneficial interaction and are required for plant-growth promotion by E. meliloti under N-deficiency.This work shows association between A. thaliana and E. meliloti for plant nutrition under severe N-deficiency, and suggests that plants have conserved-molecular mechanisms to interact with N-fixing bacteria to procure N and escape adverse conditions. Under these circumstances, the supply of N via N-fixation is critical for survival, allowing the plant to complete its life cycle. Our findings provide a new framework and an experimental model system that expand our understanding of plant-rhizobia interactions for plant N-nutrition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-386
Author(s):  
Seung Ho Park ◽  
Gerardo R. Ungson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover the underlying drivers of sustained high performing companies based on a field study of 127 companies in Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese (BRIC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) emerging markets. Understanding these companies provides a complementary way of appraising the growth, development and transformation of emerging markets. The authors synthesize the findings in an overarching framework that covers six strategies for building and sustaining legacy that leads to the succession of intergenerational wealth over time: overcoming institutional voids, inclusive markets, deepening localization, nurturing government support, building core competencies and harnessing human capital. The authors relate these strategies to different levels of development using Prahalad and Hart’s BOP framework. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the underlying drivers of sustained high-performance companies based on field studies from an initial set of 105,260 BRIC companies and close to 500 companies in ASEAN. The methods employed four screening tests to arrive at a selection of the highest-performing firms: 70 firms in the BRIC nations and 58 firms from ASEAN. Following the selection, the authors constructed cases using primary interviews and secondary data, with the assistance of Ernst & Young and with academic colleagues in Manila. These studies were originally conducted in two separate time periods and reported accordingly. This paper synthesizes the findings of these two studies to arrive at an extended integrative framework. Findings From the cases, the authors examine six strategies for building and sustaining legacy that lead to high performance over time: overcoming institutional voids, creating inclusive markets, deepening localization, nurturing government support, building core competencies and harnessing human capital. To address the evolving state of institutional voids in these countries, the authors employ similar methods to hypothesize the placement of these strategies in the context of the world economic pyramid, initially formulated as the “bottom of the pyramid” framework. Originality/value This paper synthesizes and extends the authors’ previous works by proposing the concept of legacy to describe the emergence and succession of local exemplary firms in emerging markets. This study aims to complement extant measures of nation-growth based primarily on GDP. The paper also extends the literature on institutional voids in shifting the focus from the mix of voids to their evolving state. Altogether, the paper provides a complementary narrative on assessing the market potential of emerging markets by adopting several categories of performance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (18) ◽  
pp. 6559-6569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Fox ◽  
Nola Leonard ◽  
Kieran Jordan

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to characterize physiological differences between persistent and presumed nonpersistentListeria monocytogenesstrains isolated at processing facilities and to investigate the molecular basis for this by transcriptomic sequencing. Full metabolic profiles of two strains, one persistent and one nonpersistent, were initially screened using Biolog's Phenotype MicroArray (PM) technology. Based on these results, in which major differences from selected antimicrobial agents were detected, another persistent strain and two nonpersistent strains were characterized using two antimicrobial PMs. Resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) was shown to be higher among persistent strains. Growth of persistent and nonpersistent strains in various concentrations of the QACs benzethonium chloride (BZT) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was determined. Transcriptomic sequencing of a persistent and a presumed nonpersistent strain was performed to compare gene expression among these strains in the presence and absence of BZT. Two strains, designated “frequent persisters” because they were the most frequently isolated at the processing facility, showed overall higher resistance to QACs. Transcriptome analysis showed that BZT induced a complex peptidoglycan (PG) biosynthesis response, which may play a key role in BZT resistance. Comparison of persistent and nonpersistent strains indicated that transcription of many genes was upregulated among persistent strains. This included three gene operons:pdu,cob-cbi, andeut. These genes may play a role in the persistence ofL. monocytogenesoutside the human host.


2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihui Xu ◽  
Huihui Zhang ◽  
Xinli Sun ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Wuxia Yan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTRhizosphere colonization by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) along plant roots facilitates the ability of PGPR to promote plant growth and health. Thus, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the root colonization process by plant-beneficialBacillusstrains is essential for the use of these strains in agriculture. Here, we observed that ansfpgene mutant of the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteriumBacillus velezensisSQR9 was unable to form normal biofilm architecture, and differential protein expression was observed by proteomic analysis. A minor wall teichoic acid (WTA) biosynthetic protein, GgaA, was decreased over 4-fold in the Δsfpmutant, and impairment of theggaAgene postponed biofilm formation and decreased cucumber root colonization capabilities. In addition, we provide evidence that the major WTA biosynthetic enzyme GtaB is involved in both biofilm formation and root colonization. The deficiency in biofilm formation of the ΔgtaBmutant may be due to an absence of UDP-glucose, which is necessary for the synthesis of biofilm matrix exopolysaccharides (EPS). These observations provide insights into the root colonization process by a plant-beneficialBacillusstrain, which will help improve its application as a biofertilizer.IMPORTANCEBacillus velezensisis a Gram-positive plant-beneficial bacterium which is widely used in agriculture. Additionally,Bacillusspp. are some of the model organisms used in the study of biofilms, and as such, the molecular networks and regulation systems of biofilm formation are well characterized. However, the molecular processes involved in root colonization by plant-beneficialBacillusstrains remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that WTAs play important roles in the plant root colonization process. The loss of thegtaBgene affects the ability ofB. velezensisSQR9 to sense plant polysaccharides, which are important environmental cues that trigger biofilm formation and colonization in the rhizosphere. This knowledge provides new insights into theBacillusroot colonization process and can help improve our understanding of plant-rhizobacterium interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Emidio Costantini ◽  
Andrea Firrincieli ◽  
Stefano Fedi ◽  
Carola Parolin ◽  
Carlo Viti ◽  
...  

The vaginal microbiota, normally characterized by lactobacilli presence, is crucial for vaginal health. Members belonging to L. crispatus and L. gasseri species exert crucial protective functions against pathogens, although a total comprehension of factors that influence their dominance in healthy women is still lacking. Here we investigated the complete genome sequence and comprehensive phenotypic profile of L. crispatus strain BC5 and L. gasseri strain BC12, two vaginal strains featured by anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities. Phenotype microarray (PM) results revealed an improved capacity of BC5 to utilize different carbon sources as compared to BC12, although some specific carbon sources that can be associated to the human diet were only metabolized by BC12, i.e. uridine, amygdalin, tagatose. Additionally, the two strains were mostly distinct in the capacity to utilize the nitrogen sources under analysis. On the other hand, BC12 showed tolerance/resistance towards twice the number of stressors (i.e. antibiotics, toxic metals etc.) with respect to BC5. The divergent phenotypes observed in PM were supported by the identification in either BC5 or BC12 of specific genetic determinants that were found to be part of the core genome of each species. The PM results in combination with comparative genome data provide insights into the possible environmental factors and genetic traits supporting the predominance of either L. crispatus BC5 or L. gasseri BC12 in the vaginal niche, giving also indications for metabolic predictions at the species level.


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